Advertising Opinion South Africa

1 in 4 South Africans is unemployed. Here's how we reduce those numbers!

I receive unsolicited mails - weekly - from graduates, matriculants, and experienced industry individuals, vying for a potential role at Retroviral; anything.

The mails are terrible. I’ve seen more attractive Comic Sans, conference, communication spam. The urge to delete is strong.

Considering the education syllabus has undergone some cosmetic surgery since I was at high school, I’m not sure if LO (our version of ‘Guidance’) ever tackles the subject of self-promotion, individual PR, or even just plain old how to make friends and influence people.

The ‘intro mail’ – with attached CV – is your opportunity to get your foot in the door. If you screw this up, there is no next part. There is no interview. Do not pass go. Do not collect UIF.

We used the amount of awful CVs we are exposed to, as an insight for our client – Clere for Men. We then worked with Wonderland Collective to create a CV builder for the Clere for Men brand so that we could develop an actual solution for its customers.

1 in 4 South Africans is unemployed. Here's how we reduce those numbers!

We all know men are simple creatures. We are always on the look out for a better job and we are genetically programmed to find a girlfriend / partner. There are a series of steps required to attract said partner and this is where Clere for Men becomes the catalyst for change:

If you start off smelling good, it’s a shorter leap to then feel good, and once you feel good, you’re on your way to looking good (with a few pointers on the style front required). These are the key factors for enhancing your confidence.

Everything in life is about confidence. This brings us full circle to actually stepping foot into the interview situation to land the job you are after. Your paperwork has to be in order, your CV needs to look slick, but the piece of paper isn’t going to win you the job. You – the person – are!

Clereformen.co.za has been designed to give you grooming advice, style guidance, while the CV Maker is the third side of the triangle to give you a one up on your future and help you realise your personal vision.

If we could enable 1 million people to become employed or aid them starting businesses and they hire 4 people as a result, that’s 5 million new jobs that have been created – or 10% of our population.

Play with the site, share with your mates who are in desperate need of a man-makeover, and let us know if there are any additions you would like to see. New content will be developed over the next few weeks as well as some video tutorials.

About Mike Sharman

Mike Sharman is the owner of Retroviral Digital Communications, an online communications consultancy specialising in communication strategy, social media and content creation.
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